Don't you just love iPod's?????

My iPod is such a fun place to wander... such an eclectic combination of music! My favorite thing to do is to sort everything by song title - pick a letter of the alphabet and GO! I ran across this set of songs the other night...

Breaking the Rules - AC/DC
Brian's Song - Theme Song from Monty Python's Movie "Life of Brian"
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
Bridget the Midget - Ray Stevens (don't ask... it's best that way)
Bring It On - Kevin Fowler (didn't think we'd get out of this without a little bit of country, did you?)
Bring it on Down to My House - Asleep at the Wheel (MORE country)
Bring Out Your Dead - audio clip from Monty Python's Holy Grail movie
Bringing on the Heartbreak - Def Leppard

...now if that set list doesn't entertain you, I don't know what will! I don't know how I ever survived without iTunes. What a glorious idea! All the music you could ever want ALL IN ONE PLACE! Well... except the Beatles & AC/DC... but that's ok, because I have all of their CD's anyway (don't you just HATE Yoko Ono??? She's just EVIL.) I even found a NEW version of Melanie's "Brand New Key" by a punk band called The Dolly Rots... absolutely made my day (actually my week!) My children weren't so impressed by that one - but who asked them, anyway? :)

OK. Done going on and on about the wonderfulness of my iPod. Tune in next time to hear my take on paper shredders & pencil sharpeners. :)

Fun with the Quiltie Ladies

Photos from the quilting retreat I went to last weekend with some of my favorite Quiltie Ladies...

This is my friend Cindy and me - we used to spend every Saturday together at the quilt shop she worked at. I don't get to see her very often any more - but we sure make up for lost time! :)

We all worked on quilts from Eleanor Burn's new book "Night & Day" and for once, I did not make the smallest size. I SHOULD have made the smallest size...LOL - gosh what a lot of work! I finished all of the blocks and got them put together into top, but still have 3 borders to add... don't know WHEN because I am DONE working on this quilt for a while! Oh well - maybe I'll finish it this weekend? I really would like to see it done!

These sweet ladies are Mary (our hostest - the retreat was held at her beautiful Cimarron Ranch) and Angela (our teacher for the weekend.)

I only got 1 good shot of most of us together (Mary had to leave for a birthday party and I was taking the photo). Angela had us do Show & Tell, then we played a trivia game for fun quiltie prizes! We had so much fun! ;)

Today I am...

1. wondering why Mondays are so stupid.
2. wondering where my Monday WENT?
3. being proud of finishing 5 LO's this weekend (yay me!!)
4. trying to remember to have the photo of Kelly and me from Colorado that his mother took PRINTED... why am I not doing that right now?? (because I'm BLOGGING, that's why!)
5. wishing Burnet County didn't have some weird anti-rain barrier around it - it rained everywhere but here today - watched the radar and the big line of storms parted and went neatly around Burnet County, leaving us dry as a bone.
6. listening to Justin play his electric guitar... kinda fun to guess which solo he'll break into next.
7. loving having my kids home for the summer...NOT looking forward to school starting again.
8. hoping Lynn's after dinner cocktail party is going well tonight...
9. looking forward to the quilting retreat I'm going to this weekend. !!!
10. a little panicked because I still have one Christmas quilt to finish and get to Ronna before Friday. Ooops!

COOOOOLD Water!

We are in Copper Mountain, Colorado for the weekend. LOVING the weather - nice and cool and a bit rainy...so much better than the 104 degrees we left in Texas! This afternoon Kelly bet Jackson $1 that he coudn't put his feet in the creek for 20 seconds (our little Texas boy had no idea how cold the Mountain stream water is!) He did it - won his dollar. I just want to know... how old does a boy have to be before he thinks maybe he should take his SHOES & SOCKS off before he sticks his feet in the water??????? Silly boy... :)

all those J's

Meet Jake, Justin, Jake, Jordan, Joe, Jackson, Joe, Jim, Josh & Jimmy. I don't know what it is about J names in my family. I mean, I know I've always loved J names... but it's just weird that so many other people in my family do, too. I have 2 cousins who also named all 3 of their kids J names. It wasn't planned. Seriously. No really - we didn't know... Joe (big guy in the middle there) is my cousin. Until he and his family moved here about 4 years ago, I hadn't seen him since I was 12 and before that since I was 4, I think (and I don't remember that time). His boys are named Joe (after him), Jake & Jimmy (after Uncle Jim who is on the far right). Joe's brother is Chris - who is Jordan's dad. Add Josh to that and you've got 10 J's on Dad's side of the family.

On Mom's side - you've got her sister, Judy & Judy's daughter, Jodi. There's also mom's cousin Jeffery (he has kids who very well may be J names, too, but I have no proof right this minute - lol). Her older brother Ron's oldest son Ron's 1st 3 kids are Jay, Jennifer & Justin... all born around the same time that my Justin & Jake (Jacob) were born (and I had no idea that his Jay's name is really Jacob!). Then Jodi's sister, Shannon, had daughter Jordan and Jodi had James (he goes by Trevor but his first name is James.) My Jackson came next, then a few years later cousin Andrea married Jason and they had Jonathan. If you include my 3 and Josh again - that's 13 J's on Mom's side.

Hmmm...so, by age... Uncle Jim, Judy, Joe, Josh, Jodi, Jeffery, Jason, Joe, Jake, Jay, Jimmy, Jennifer, Justin, Justin, Jake, Jordan, Jackson, Jordan, James, Jonathan. We don't have any Jills, Jeremys or Jessicas... I don't think. I bet if I looked hard enough I could find them, though!! :)

Does it have to be this way?? Really???

This photo pretty much defines me at this point. It's been 3 weeks and 1 day since Justin turned 16...and started driving. As much as I was looking forward to having the "help" of another driver in the family - nothing can prepare you for that punch in the stomach that comes when watching your first born drive away the first time... alone... without you. Off into the world where, even if I think I know where he is and what he's doing - I really DON'T. I know he's a good driver, and I completely trust him (I think...lol). And to make matters worse - Jake is right behind him... he'll be getting his driving permit in a couple of weeks and soon I'll have TWO. But that's not it. It's just the continuing realization that my boys are growing up... and I'm getting older. That's the hard part, really, I think... I'm getting older. OLD is an ugly word. It's definitely part of OLDer. I don't like it.... hate it, as a matter of fact. I know I should get over it. I turned 40 over 5 months ago, for goodness sake. But I'm not anywhere near getting over it. It just gets worse every day, it seems. Just when I think I'm finally getting a grip, some other horror dawns on me... like the fact that my baby will start Middle School in the fall. Of course THAT means no more Elementary School class parties... he doesn't need a "room mother" anymore; no more Christmas Programs to video tape; no more "little kid" stuff at all. Its over. And I loved every minute of it...not ready for it to end. The mail brings more heartache nearly every day - Justin is already getting pummelled with College recruiting mail. COLLEGE? Isn't he a bit young for that? No... he'll officially be a Junior in 7 days. How could that be??? How did that happen? It's like everything I know and love is in a complete landslide headed toward... what? Old? I'm afraid that's it. The whole year after I turned 39 was like being on a high-speed train racing toward the brick wall of FORTY. Everyone told me it wasn't a big deal. They were WRONG. How can it not be a big deal when it just brings me that much closer to my babies growing up and leaving home? How is it ok to be leaving behind the very things that DEFINE me? Forty STINKS... but it gets even worse. It doesn't stop! Every day I'm even OLDER than the day before. Yes, I know this is happening to everyone everywhere every day... but the realization of it is horrible! I can't stop it. Every night when I go to bed, and pick up my book or magazine to read for a bit - I notice that my eyesight, which until very recently has been PERFECT...is not so perfect anymore. Soon I will need reading glasses, I'm afraid. Reading glasses. Adding insult to injury. At least I don't have any gray hair yet, right? I'm sure it's coming, though. I know eventually I'll be ok with this whole AGE thing and maybe relocate my sense of humor. Not there yet... maybe tomorrow?